Another blow for plasma TVs as Panasonic eyes an exit

Could pull out by 2014

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Panasonic's plasmas: soon to be an endangered species?

Panasonic may stop making plasma televisions altogether as it looks to restructure its struggling TV division.

The news comes from Japanese newspaper Nikkei, which went so far as to claim that Panasonic has already vastly reduced its plasma production. However, the paper hasn't cited any concrete sources so it's not clear where the information originated.

The paper reckoned that Panasonic is set to make less than half of its 2009/2010 TV income by 2015 - hence the pull away from plasma, which Nikkei reckons will happen 2014.

Mulling it over

Panasonic isn't exactly batting the rumours away: "The content of the report is not something announced by Panasonic. Regarding the growth strategy for the TV business, we are looking into a variety of options, but nothing has been decided at the moment," a spokesperson told us.

Reading between the lines, that comment certainly makes it sound as though Panasonic is having a good think about palming off the plasma.

But it doesn't exactly jive with what Fabrice Estornel, Panasonic's TV head in the UK, told us in February:

"Maybe we accept that the entry level on plasma is becoming more a niche market, but there are still lots of people who are really into picture quality and home cinema […] For sports and movies, it's still the best technology."